in keeping with the movie catagory, how about favorite foodie books (or books with great descriptions of food)? off the top of my head i think of The Prince of Tides by pat conroy, Charlie and the Chocolate factory (of course) and Farmer Boy by laura ingles wilder. how about ya'll?

I can remember my first food in a novel experience. I was about 7 years of age and reading Heidi. When Grandfather toasted the cheese over the coals of the fire I went straight to our kitchen and tried it. It was a long time ago and we lived on a farm, where fortunately my mother cooked on a wood burning stove. If we had gas or electricity I might not have discovered the love of cooking, because that melted and toasted cheese was so good. Recently I attended a cooking class at the Paris Ritz where the chef made melted parmesan chips - a classy way to serve toasted cheese!_________________Barbara

Aren't there any readers out there? David - I thought you would have some suggestions.

I have a few you may know. "Wind in the Willows" - I recollect a wonderful list of food for a picnic. There is a rather fun discussion about pears in Proust's "Times of Rememberance Past" . Sorry I can't remember which volume. "Apricots on the Nile" - Collette Rossants memoir of growing up in Egypt. Chocolat (Joanne Harris) although the movie is better than the book._________________Barbara

Doesn't James Joyce's Ulysses have numerous eating and food-related passages? Then again, maybe not since that book is so arcane that it is difficult to tell what it all is about._________________' She says, 'I am the glamorous type.' I said, 'So what?'

I have just browsed my Wind in the Willows (actually my son's) book. Our copy is beautifully illustrated by Michael Hague. I discovered many more mentions of food but I have copied the picnic passage for those that would like to be reminded of their childhood or their children's childhood.

Well, this isn't a novel, but Ruth Reichl's autobiography is *amazing*. Reichl is the editor of Gourmet magazine. She's written two parts of her autobiography (so far). Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples. Wonderful books .. very descriptive and an extremely enjoyable read.

Also The Devil's Larder: A Feast by Jim Crace. This book is a collection of 60 or so food-related vignettes. One of my favourites is about a family anticipating what is in a tin can that has had the label removed (it also happens to be in the excerpt on amazon.com).

Someone mentioned Laura Ingles Wilder's Farmer Boy. I find that Wilder has a real knack for writing food scenes. I think it is By the Shores of Silver Lake where the Ingles are in a store for the winter and she describes all the delightful treats they have like canned peaches. Yum!

Joined: 29 Sep 2004Posts: 1196Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia

Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 12:18 pm Post subject:

An elderly friend of mine - 90 in February - had a bad chest last winter and spent quite a bit of time in bed. She did something she has always been meaning to do .... she read Ulysses! Said it was pretty hard going, but she's pleased she's done it, and can now die with that one ticked off her list of 'things to do before she dies'.

Anything by M.F.K. Fisher should be in this category. Some of my other favorites (a favorite being any book that makes my tummy grumble and causes me to get out of my chair and rummage in the kitchen for a snack) are Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun, and Joanne Harris' Chocolat.

I also can read cookbooks like a regular (i.e. literary work of fiction or non-fiction) book. Many of them, especially if the author is a gifted writer, are fun to read! James Beard gets wonderfully grumpy about things and has many side notes about the dishes he includes in his cookbooks.

I came across the following article on the writing of food that may be of interest to some of you. It discuss food writing and quotes authors from Philostratus (3rd Century) through to our beloved MFK Fisher and includes passages from Dickens, Keats, Fitzgerald (Great Gatsby) and more.

The book I'm reading at the moment is The Pudding That Took A Thousand Cooks by Michael Symons (I think this may be published in North America as A History of Cooks and Cooking). He mentions the following books: The Long Winter (Laura Inglis Wilder), Heartburn (Nora Ephron), What Katy Did (Coolidge), Like Water for Hot Chocolate (Esquivel) and Babettes Feast (Isak Dinesen). Of course these last two we know are great movies and note the shortened title for Like Water For Chocolate.

If you are interested in the history, philosophy or sociology of food Michael Symons is worth reading._________________Barbara

The new biography of MFK Fisher, "Poet of the Appetites."
Edited by Ruth Reichl, "Remembrance of things Paris." 30 years of writing from Goumet.
Some of these pieces also appear in "Paris in Mind,"edited by Jennifer Lee._________________Sharing food with another human being is an intimate act that should not be indulged in lightly
..................................MFK Fisher

Joined: 18 Oct 2004Posts: 1654Location: Within view of Elliot Bay, The Olympics and every ship in the Sound

Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:31 pm Post subject:

Has anyone read "Grande Dictionaire de Cuisine"? I just found out today that Alexander Dumas, (a fave of mine), was very passionate when it came to food and wrote about the food he encountered on his travels. I would love to hear what anyone has to say about it._________________"It's watery....and yet there's a smack of ham."

You could ballast a boat with these books but... I absolutely LOVE James Petersons' Sauces and Glorious French Food. Actually I love any book by James Peterson but Glorious French Food is a historical, cultural and culinary delight. It is so informative as well as entertaining and interesting. Sauces is one of my all time favorites and makes you want to whip out your sauce pan and start reducing. I wish I had read it BEFORE I went to cooking school as I could have saved a small fortune and half a year of my life. I list most of my cookbooks here: http://cucinatestarossa.blogs.com/weblog/2004/12/a_note_about_my.html. Ciao e mangia bene!

thanks Erin! it's a pleasure to be here! there is a writer near you, East Hampton i think, named Cheryl Mercer who wrote "Relax, It's Only Dinner". She also ghost writes Martha Stewart's cookbooks! "Relax..." is a great paperback, very funny anecdotes, with creative but easy recipes organized by menus which i love. My favorite is the Boursin Chicken. Take one of those boursin cheeses, stuff it in the chicken, tie it up and let'er roast. Amazing and it's even better on a rotisserie. My bachelor friends use it all the time now to impress dates. next time I'm in NYC (or if you get to Paris), let's cook! and I'll bring my own knives _________________cucina testa rossa
http://cucinatestarossa.blogs.com